Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has been charged with fraudulent and unfair trading, as reported by the Korea Herald.
Famous by the name Hitman Bang, Bang Si-hyuk is also a record producer, music executive, and songwriter. He was also included in Forbes Korea’s Richest 50 list this year, with a net worth of over one billion dollars, making him one of the country’s most influential figures in the music industry.
Started over twenty years ago as Big Hit Entertainment, Hybe Corporation later changed its name. And as of now, it has become extremely popular for managing world-famous groups and bands, which include BTS and Tomorrow X Together.
As per recent news, Bang Si-hyuk is facing new trouble. South Korean police believe Bang Si-hyuk might be involved in illegal trading. They have further asked for a detention warrant linked to Hybe Corporation’s stock market debut.
More on the story below.
Why is Bang Si-hyuk facing charges?
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Hybe chairman might not have shared the complete and correct details with Hybe’s early investors before the company went public. After the company went public, according to the police, he eventually made a profit from the deals, which counts as illegal gains.
Additionally, he is also said to have pushed the investors in 2019 to sell the shares that they own to a private fund linked to people who are close to him, telling them that the listing was pushed back. This violates the rules.
As of now, neither Bang nor Hybe has released any statement on the same.
During an interview with Billboard three years ago, when asked about the growth of the company, Si-hyuk said:
“From a corporate culture perspective, the rapid influx of new employees makes it very difficult to maintain HYBE’s culture. HYBE continues to make an effort to hold and share a set of values that are relatively well-organized and realistic. Despite these efforts, it is not always easy to keep everyone under an umbrella of homogeneous values when the workforce doubles almost every year.”
He added:
“The reason that HYBE’s corporate culture has kept its homogeneous value is because it is based on common human values. We believe when talented people who are enthusiastic about their work collaborate freely in a responsible manner, their shared belief will allow both the company and the employees to achieve mutual growth.”
Si-hyuk has been under police investigation over claims of breaking the Capital Markets Act. Additionally, Si-hyuk has not been allowed to leave the country since August last year. As of now, he has denied the claims.
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Edited by Vatsala Chauhan